NAGOYA – Taekwondo jin Tachiana Mangin is admittedly disappointed after falling short of an Asian Games gold medal in the women's 49kg kyorugi event on Friday.
Mangin had to go through tough opponents on the road to the gold medal match, highlighted by her clutch win over hometown bet Okamoto Ruka in the semifinal.
The 18-year-old said her tears and frustration following her loss in the final against China's Ma Jingyue came after she realized how close she got to the gold.
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According to the young athlete, it has been a tough year for her in competitions, as she is also dealing with challenges physically and illness.
"Una po kasi siguro ngayon lang po ulit ako nanalo ng medal this yea,r kasi mga previous competitions po hindi po talaga ako nananalo any medal. May mga muntik-muntikan na po pero parang this time lang po kasi ako nanalo," she told POC Media on Saturday.
"Siyempre siguro din po nanghinayang na din ako. Kasi close eh. Super, super. Onti na lang eh makukuha ko na. Pero ayun, it's sports. Ganun talaga po yung buhay. Mag-training pa rin talaga," Mangin added.
A day after the final, the junior world champion continues to process what took place in the competition area.
"Parang ngayon nasa utak ko po kasi anong mga kulang ko, ano pa bang kailangan ko gawin na yun. Parang umiikot pa din yung utak ko. Parang sa kakapanood ko po sa mga ibang players, parang anong mga pwede pang gawin," she said.
But rather than dwell on the what-ifs, Mangin is instead looking at the silver medal as a sign of her potential and a calling to keep moving forward.
"Dahil hindi pa po ako nananalo ng mga previous competitions, tournaments, parang for me, yung hindi ka sumusuko and still showing up kahit ang dami mo nang talo and dami mo nang doubt sa sarili mo is parang napaka-importante yun. Kailangan mo lang talaga ng tiyaga and sipag," she said.
Her veteran teammate, Olympian Kurt Barbosa said he shared some encouraging words to Mangin after the gold medal match.
Barbosa, who also won silver at the 2026 Asian Games, knows what it's like to struggle and to keep getting back up despite the losses.
"Sabi ko sa kanya, ang bata mo pa, nakasilver ka na. Looking forward, pag inisip mo talaga yung future sa kanya, there's many medals for her. I'm so happy for her," Barbosa said.
"Ayan, bata pa siya. Ang dami niya na na-achieve. Paano pa pag sa age ko na, di ba? So, tanda-tanda ako na. Siya na talaga yung one of the best athlete in the Philippines," he added.
Barbosa reminded his younger teammate that losing is part of being an athlete and that all of them go through this process before finding success.
"Ganun po talaga yung life. Parang you need to step by step and then biglang papabaka ka na naman and then you need to come up na naman. So I just enjoyed life what God gave to you. Thankful kami sa lahat," he said.
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Mangin got a boost with her father who was present during her matches, flying from the Philippines to Nagoya, Japan to see her compete for the country.
The 18-year-old said her father told her he was proud of her no matter the result, something that she will hold dearly as he is one of her biggest supporters.
As Mangin takes time to process what happened, one thing's for sure – she's definitely coming back stronger and more determined to get the gold in the next competition.
"Napakalaking halaga po and factor yung showing up. Kahit madami ka ng dapa, madami ka ng talo, napaka-importante pati na nagsishow up ka kasi kasama po yun sa process.And eventually, with that process and samahan mo ng patience and syaga talaga, makukuha mo din yung goal mo," she said.